


The Good Ol' Days

by seekeronthepath



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, Steve Rogers Is Not Your Conservative Icon, media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-12 14:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7109929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekeronthepath/pseuds/seekeronthepath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers has a few words to say about 'old fashioned family values'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Good Ol' Days

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Known Associates](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6292210) by [thingswithwings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingswithwings/pseuds/thingswithwings). 



Steve looked around the roomful of reporters. “It’s come to my attention,” he began, “that I’m being used as something of a symbol in a number of moral debates going on in our nation today. And I think it’s time I make it clear what my opinions _are_.

“Now, when I was a young man,” he went on, “I got called a lot of names. I got called a weakling, which I kind of was, and a coward, which I hope I wasn’t. And I got called a faggot, and a queer, and a fairy.

“A lot of people out there seem to think that because I was born in 1918, I oughta be old-fashioned about things. And usually they ask me about the good ol’ days thinking I’ll be wanting to reminisce.

“So you know what? Let’s reminisce. Let’s reminisce about my neighbour Betty, also known as Arthur, who let me draw her sometimes when she was all dolled up. Let’s reminisce about Frank, who found me a job working with numbers down at the docks, where he and his fairy ‘husband’ worked. Let’s reminisce about Vincent’s, the bar a few blocks over where I got told I was pretty for the first time by a guy in drag.”

Steve’s voice got stronger and harder. “Let’s reminisce about the soldiers I knew who couldn’t talk about their sweethearts. About the ladies of the WAC who found like minds and love in the war where they couldn’t at home. Let’s reminisce about the men the Howlies rescued from camps where they’d been sent for being faggots, queers, fairies.”

He paused, and when he spoke, his voice was softer. “So to the people today who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, transgender, genderfluid, androgynous, agender, or in any other way ‘queer’…I want you to know that in the ‘good ol’ days’, there were people like you. And times were tough for them, but they still found friends, and like minds, and the lucky ones found love. And to you, and to everyone else, I say: I am and was a friend to those people.

“You want to hear about my family values? I believe that everyone should be able to have a family, whether that family is something you’re born into, adopted into, married into, or something else. I believe that a family that rejects one of their own because of who they love has failed as a family. I believe that a family is a community of love and commitment, and if two people are willing and able to love and commit to each other, no one has the right to tell them they are not a family.”

Steve raised his chin and looked around the room challengingly. “When I took up the shield, I did so to defend and protect good people from bullies. And I would like to make it clear, here and now, that as far as I’m concerned, LGBT people fall under that protection. If you are homophobic, transphobic, or in any other way prejudiced against that community, and you use my name to support your cause, this is your one warning: I won’t stand for it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Because 'Known Associates' was an amazing fic and I got inspired.
> 
> Looking forward to your comments!


End file.
